The present invention relates to a conveying apparatus for conveying a photographic light-sensitive material in a dryer chamber of an automatic photographic developer machine.
In a common automatic developer machine, a tape of photographic light-sensitive material is subjected to a series of developing, fixing, and rinsing processes, where it is immersed in different processing fluids including a developer, a fixer, and other solutions which are contained in their respective tanks, before being transferred into a dryer chamber. The photographic light-sensitive material is then dried out as it is conveyed through the drier chamber. For increasing the during efficiency of the photographic light-sensitive material in a limited path in the dryer chamber, it is desired to turn back the photographic light-sensitive material at the other end of the path in the dryer chamber so that it can run forward and backward in the dryer chamber.
As disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 6-54379, a conveying apparatus, which comprises guide rollers of a cylindrical shape having a plurality of suction holes and arranged to be movable, a net-like conveyor belt mounted for running on the guide rollers to convey the photographic light-sensitive material, and a duct communicating between the inner space of the guide rollers and the suction inlet of an air blower, is provided in the dryer chamber. The air blower, when driven, draws air via the duct from the inner space of the guide rollers. Its suction action causes the photographic light-sensitive material to be attached to the outer side of the guide rollers while being conveyed on the conveyor belt. Hence, the movement of the photographic light-sensitive material along the outer side of the guide rollers can be smoothly shifted to another direction.
However, in the construction of the conventional apparatus the guide rollers have to be rotated in relation to duct, and the sealing at the joint between the duct and the guide rollers is made difficult. If the sealing between the duct and the guide rollers is inadequate, the suction capability is reduced and may prevent the photographic light-sensitive material from smoothly shifting its moving direction along the guide rollers.